For all of history, humans have used temporary shelter. For some, temporary shelter is an essential part of a nomadic existence. For others who routinely dwell in permanent structures, temporary shelter is used as a break in the routine or when their permanent structure cannot be occupied.
After a natural disaster, such as severe weather, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and wildfires, people are displaced from their dwellings and must seek temporary shelter. Human-caused disasters such as armed conflict, political upheaval and economic crisis create large numbers of homeless refugees. Additionally, in urban settings, there is a shortage of low-cost housing to accommodate the number of homeless poor who often live on the streets.
Historically, people have used tents of all shapes and sizes for temporary shelter. The more shelter and amenities provided by the tent, the more elaborate, heavy, complicated and bulky the tent is prior to erection.
Often times after a disaster, mobile homes are brought in to house the displaced. However, these take time to move to the location where they are needed as well as time to connect to utilities. They also do not pack down and have a high cost and weight per person.
While these units may be suitable for the particular purpose employed, or for general use, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present disclosure as disclosed hereafter.
In the present disclosure, where a document, act or item of knowledge is referred to or discussed, this reference or discussion is not an admission that the document, act or item of knowledge or any combination thereof was at the priority date, publicly available, known to the public, part of common general knowledge or otherwise constitutes prior art under the applicable statutory provisions; or is known to be relevant to an attempt to solve any problem with which the present disclosure is concerned.
While certain aspects of conventional technologies have been discussed to facilitate the present disclosure, no technical aspects are disclaimed, and it is contemplated that the claims may encompass one or more of the conventional technical aspects discussed herein.